


Lungs

by caphound



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Hanahaki Disease, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 07:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14075622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caphound/pseuds/caphound
Summary: Tord had just come home after all these years, the last thing he wanted to do was ruin this friendship. The one meaningful person in his life was going to be the death of him.





	Lungs

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this while i was very sleepy and very sad  
> idk i just was looking up prompts & saw a hanahaki disease one and ive never written anything pertaining to that so  
> also another typical valentine "rabies" title

Tord had never experienced anything like this. He had never _needed_ someone else so literally. And he hated it. With his entire being, he hated this dependency that he suddenly felt, the urgent longing to have his love’s affections returned to him. His life, quite literally, depended on it.

He sat on the porch, alternating between smoking his cigar and wiping bloody rose petals from his mouth. Everyone had caught on by now that something was _wrong_ , but Tord made a point of not allowing anyone to see what was going on with him. He would be damned if Matt or Tom found out, and if Edd found out, he didn’t know what he would do. Tord let out a dry chuckle as he realized that he would quite literally die before he ruined his friendship with Edd.

Every moment he spent with Edd seemed to make the disease grow – his heart felt like it was being squeezed, fireworks going off in his mind and in his gut, and his throat tingled once again. He tried his best to keep his mouth covered and wipe away all of the blood and petals that came out and put on a weak smile whenever Edd expressed concern. He had just come home after all these years, the last thing he wanted to do was ruin this friendship. The one meaningful person in his life was going to be the death of him.

He knew that Edd could never love him the way he loved him. Tord inhaled sharply, bursting into a fit of violent coughs. He could feel petals, leaves, the thorny stems of the roses digging into his throat. He could feel his chest hurting more and more with each passing minute. Tord dropped to his knees and tried to cough up the lump of petals clogging his throat. Once they were out, he stared at them in disbelief. A small blooming rosebud was in his palm, speckled with bright blood. He chuckled again, this time hollow, and gazed out into the night sky. Tears prickled in his eyes and he fought them – he was never one to cry or feel much in general, but lately, things hadn’t been going his way at all. And now, he was going to die alone. Somehow, his only thought was, _I hope Edd won’t be too upset when I’m gone._

He coughed and spat petals onto the ground. Behind him, the door creaked open. He didn’t bother turning around. Tord hardly cared anymore, because he was going to die very soon , because he was too stubborn to admit his feelings to Edd and seek help, because although these feelings tormented him and ruined him from the inside out, he didn’t want to lose them because God knows that these feelings bloomed inside of him far before the roses, and-

“Tord?” He flinched at the sound of Edd’s voice. His chest clenched, and he coughed hard enough to gag, another closed bud encased in blood falling from his mouth. Tord turned and looked at Edd, a lame smile on his face. “Hello, Edd… What brings you out here?” He asked, trying to hold his coughing back. “I’m worried about you.” He said, walking over to Tord and putting a hand on his shoulder. The gesture was so gentle, so full of care, that Tord almost broke down and told him right there. Instead, he began coughing again, the petals falling faster, speckles of blood covering them and dripping to the porch. Edd gasped and pulled back in surprise. 

“Tord…” He whispered. Tord looked up at him, legs shaking. “Surprise.” He said, and although it was an attempt to lighten the mood, it fell completely flat. Edd hugged him tightly. Tord heard him sniveling by his ear and felt as if his heart was being _ripped in half_. He opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out to spit a huge pile of fresh petals to the porch. “I’m sorry.” He whispered to Edd, weakly wrapping his arms around him and closing his eyes. “I don’t want to die.” He said shakily. His legs were trembling hard and it was difficult to stand up, as if he was a newborn lamb trying to take his first steps into the world. Edd held him tighter, only whispering one word. “Who?”

Tord gagged harshly, a few large buds and a multitude of petals coming up. He felt it become harder to breathe. He knew that it had gotten more severe, if the late nights spent trying to breathe through the intruding roses in his lungs and throat and the pain that lingered told him anything, but he still never could bring up the courage to tell Edd this. He would die a coward, but a part of him felt that was better than living a life without his closest friend. A sharp pain exploded deep in his chest, in his ribs, and he panicked. He _didn’t want to fucking die_ , and Edd asked him and he couldn’t just leave him wondering.

Tord took a sharp, pained breath in, trying to level himself by putting both of his hands on Edd’s shoulders and separating from the tight embrace. He searched for something telling him to just _spit the fucking words out_ in Edd’s deep brown eyes, but there was only fear, confusion, worry. Things that you would feel, of course, if your best friend was suffering as bad as Tord was. Hesitant, he lowered his head and gagged once more, spitting out a whole rose, thorns and all. A small rivulet of blood ran down his chin. He refused to meet Edd’s gaze as he said, “It’s you.” 

There was silence. Tord knew it was probably too late. Edd could have tried to fake it, but he knew in his heart that Edd could never love him back, not in this way. He knew that he was doomed the minute he stepped foot in the house and he felt the first nagging tingle in his chest. Months ago, the minute that Edd locked eyes with him, he should have known what he was getting himself into. It would have been better for both of them if he had just stayed in the city, he thought, because then neither of them would have to suffer. His vision was blurry. 

Tord sank to his knees weakly, too tired to fight the disease anymore. He retched and several more roses fell from his jaws. He could feel the roots burrowing into his lungs, his breath getting shorter and shorter, as he continued to get more and more lightheaded.

“Tord! Tord, please, you should’ve just told me, I…” Edd’s voice cracked as he watched Tord spit up blood and roses, a deluge of red. Hot tears ran down his cheeks as he grabbed Tord by his shoulders and shook him roughly in his panic. “I want you to be more to me! Please, please, don’t die on me, God…” He clutched Tord tightly, burying his face in his shoulder and sobbing onto him. Tord, barely conscious, closed his eyes and leaned into Edd. He could feel the pain ebbing away slightly. He took in a deep breath, a full, deep breath, for the first time in months, and then began retching violently.

A thick wad of roses and petals spilt onto the porch, leaving a thin puddle of scarlet blood below it. Tord gasped and coughed a few more times, before wiping his lips with his hoodie. He realized what had just happened, and collapsed against Edd. Edd was shaking, silent, and then barely whispered, “Tord… Are you okay?” Tord stared at the pile of roses on the porch. “I think so.” They sat in silence, embracing each other tightly for minutes. 

Quietly, Tord asked, “Did you mean what you said?” He didn’t want to know the answer, but he needed to. He didn’t want Edd to say these things out of obligation, out of a desire to simply keep him alive. Edd nodded against his shoulder. “Yes. I meant every word, Tord… I wouldn’t lie about that.” He said, sniffling. He pulled out of the embrace and looked at Tord with a quivering smile. He rubbed at his blotchy face and stood up. “Let’s just go to bed, okay?” He said with a sniffle and a hiccup. Tord nodded and stood up, his back cracking and popping. 

For the first time in these few months, he felt _free_ , no longer suffering alone and in silence. If he had known it would’ve been so easy to get better, he would have told Edd earlier, saving them both the stress of Tord almost reaching the final stages completely. Suddenly, Edd stopped where he stood and turned to face Tord. “Tord?” Tord looked at him. “Yes?” Edd looked down, hesitant, and then looked back at Tord with an earnest smile. “I love you.” For the first time in those months, Tord didn’t dread the butterflies in his chest, and finally could tell Edd what he had been thinking every day. “I love you too.”


End file.
